Retro Review: She-Wolf of London (1946)

Going back, way back 70 years. Universal Horror movies were a breakthrough for the genre. We all know the classics, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man. With the success of these movies, Universal produced sequels and monster team-ups. She-wolf of London, it is not a sequel to anything, not even a spin-off. The title alone got my brain spinning, thinking, “wow, Universal has done it again, a lead character, monster that is a female.”

She-Wolf of London is set in early 20th-century London, a woman tells her niece that their family has the blood of werewolf in her veins and that she is reason for a series murders that are plaguing London recently. She is really upset and immediately breaks off her engagement, but her fiance begins to investigate.

In trying to figure out a good thing to say about the movie. It was filmed rather well and the setting was pretty nice. The movie is slow and…boring. I had a little glimmer of hope, but there is no action, nor excitement. The name of the film is most deceptive as, there is no “she-wolf”. It mostly deals with rumors about and the psychological fear of a werewolf and a curse of an entire family. Which I like the idea of a cursed family. In a way it could have been a smart movie, but the story was more fit for a TV show. The running time was on 61 minutes.

The She-Wolf of London would have worked will more as a Twilight Zone episode or something to that effect. I think something like this could be remade now and better. I expected more from this, I expected to see a stronger female lead and what I got was a short, pretty much boring movie. I do not suggest it at all, it is a shame Universal put in in the Wolf Man Legacy Collection. Like I said, not a sequel, not a spin-off, it is the single serving movie. Check it out if you must, I picked it up at Walmart as a part of two-pack with Werewolf of London for $7. I will do a review of Werewolf in London sometime in the future, but if you want a good Werewolf movie in London…An American Werewolf in London is the only way to go.

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I have been watching horror films since I was 6 years old. The story, one Saturday night, my mom and I were watching movies and she fell asleep on the couch. We had the channel set on HBO and the movie we were watching ended and the next one, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. This was some time in 1986. I watched then entire film, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. When my mom woke, she asked me what just ended and I told her, “Freddy”. That was all I talked about for weeks and finally she broke down and rented more horror films for me. She rented, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2, Re-Animator, Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives and Halloween II. I watched all and fell in love with horror films forever.
5 Horror Films to Watch
Inferno (1980)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The Beyond (1981)
Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Horror of Dracula (1958)